The Shop Doctor is assessing the physical experience of shoppers in the towns and also evaluating the effectiveness of their on-line presence and how it might be more effectively utilised to attract increased shopping activity to each of the towns.

The final report will highlight issues impacting on the shopping experience and propose recommendations that will help inform future initiatives to help maintain and develop retail vibrancy in towns across the County.

The Shop Doctor will be following up his recent work in Dumfries with a similar programme of masterclasses and ‘one to one’ shop visits in Annan and Stranraer following submission of a succesful tender to Dumfries & Galloway Council.

The Let’s Talk Shop programe commences in Annan on 26th June, and that for Stranraer later in the year.

A return visit to Millom will also be taking place in response to requests for expert help from the Millom & District Business forum, which consists of town centre traders who meet monthly.

Following a review of the town an evening workshop presentation entitled ‘I’ve not shopped here before, but I’ll certainly be back.’ will challenge retailers to think about ways to make the shopping experience in Millom a memorable one for all the right reasons.

In Cheshire East evaluation of the ‘Shopping Experience’ will be the focus of forthcoming visits by the Shop Doctor to Knutsford, Sandbach, Disley, Macclesfield, Alsager, Congleton and Middlewich and delivery of a further programme of retail masterclasses focusing on the findings of the Shopper Experience research and identifying ways to make good experience even better.

More information will be posted about all of these exciting projects focussed on revitalising the retail economy of the towns involved as it becomes available.

The scheme is supported by Cheshire East Council who have recognised the opportunities that such a scheme can deliver and how it can be further developed to provide a single source of information and reward capable of effectively promoting local businesses and council services and facilities.

The innovative scheme is built around a local discounts and rewards card which offers residents savings across Cheshire East! The scheme provides the best way to save when shopping locally, and can be used when eating out, buying gifts, keeping fit, using local business services and much much more.

The Shop Doctor visited Congleton and Macclesfield Visitor Information Centres on Wednesday 15th June to assess opportunities to help improve commerciality and retail performance.

With increasing pressure on the available levels of public sector funding support required to sustain information provision it is essential that routes be found to make such Centres more commercially orientated, but in a manner that does not compromise information delivery.

In South Lakeland TIC provision is no longer generally provided by the local authority with management recently being passed to a disparate range of operators including the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce in Kendal, Lakes Hospitality Association in Windermere, and over the last three years by a private operator in Ambleside where TIC service is succesfully delivered through The Hub within the combined Post Office/TIC/Gift Shop